The ACES (A Community on Ecosystem Services) 2014 conference linking science, practice and decision-making took place from 8-12 December 2014 in Washington DC. There were over 500 participants at ACES 2014 from over 30 nations, including leaders from all levels of the US government, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. The conference extended over five days and included workshops, plenary and parallel sessions, town halls, and posters. Session topics included the impacts of climate change on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services, biophysical science and the production of ecosystem services, the interrelationship between human well-being and ecosystem services, monetary and non-monetary valuation techniques, and the role of traditional ecological knowledge.
IMPRESSIONS Coordinator (Paula Harrison) participated in the plenary panel on "Climate Change and Ecosystem Services" and presented a paper on "Ecosystem service provision in a changing Europe: Adapting to the impacts of climate and socio-economic change". Mark Rounsevell (WP3 co-leader) also attended the conference presenting a paper on "Quantifying the uncertainties within a cross-sectoral, integrated assessment of the impact of climate change on ecosystem services in Europe".
The conference provided a venue for synthesizing the research, methods, tools, policies and cultural values needed to more routinely and effectively incorporate ecosystem services and climate change adaptation into decision-making. There were many opportunities to share advances in science and practice, and to continue to build the ecosystem service community and better link it with the climate change impacts and adaptation community.